Today marks the 75th anniv. of alcohol sales returning to legality in the U. S. of A., post-Volstead Act. Some whoop-de-do prevented anything but beer from being sold until the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed. We were going to make note of this anyway (heard about it in Budweiser™ adverts during ball games on the radio) but the L. A. Times ran an op-ed piece as well, w/ more detail. Except the Times thinks 1933 to 2008 is 70 yrs. Morons. UPDATE (7 April 2008 @ 1938): We advised the Times of their computational error, & they have corrected the subhead.
UPDATE II (9 April 2008 @ 1250): Here's the first draft, which we wrote on 5 April & then forgot (a peek at our behind-the-scenes machinery):
Elbow-Bending Time
Seventy-five yrs. ago today, the prohibition of alcoholbeer was over as the bars reopened & boozesuds began flowing legally & openly again. Fortunately, this little experiment in imposing the morality of frigid old biddies on the rest of the nation had no long lasting effect, other than giving organized crime, La Cosa Nostra, the Mafia, etc., all the power they ever needed to corrupt already corruptible gov't. agents & agencies.
Seems like a fair exchange; peoples' lives are ruined, boozing, now having the cachet of being "forbidden," is made more popular than previously, & another source of income for criminals, politicians & Joe Kennedy is created. A perfect example of the "free" market & gov't. working hand-in-hand for the good of gov't. & those w/ the funds to start a bootlegging business.
1 comment:
Still waiting for pot to become legal.
Heard the DEA is going to be raiding the medical marijuana vending machines and outlets.
Can't we just legalize it and tax it? Could pay down the debt with the taxes.
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